2) Should you leave a congregation if a woman is ordained as an elder?

3) Which theologians and pastors have had the greatest impact on your life and ministry?

Call with your question 24 hours a day, 7 days a week: 1-877-505-2058

]]>http://www.albertmohler.com/2014/02/15/ask-anything-weekend-edition-02-15-14/feed/0Albert MohlerWhat is the difference between Dispensationalism and Covenant Theology? Should you leave a congregation if a woman is ordained as an elder? Which theologians and pastors have had the greatest impact on your life and ministry?00:19:03Church & Ministry,Church history,The Briefing,Theology,Audio,Covenant Theology,Dispensationalism,pastors,Theologians,Women Elders,Women OrdinationThe Briefing 11-13-13http://www.albertmohler.com/2013/11/13/the-briefing-11-13-13/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-briefing-11-13-13
http://www.albertmohler.com/2013/11/13/the-briefing-11-13-13/#commentsWed, 13 Nov 2013 09:00:04 +0000/?p=293081) Ministry Opportunity: Millions of Filipinos in U.S. mourn loss of family and friends

]]>http://www.albertmohler.com/2013/11/13/the-briefing-11-13-13/feed/0Albert MohlerMinistry Opportunity: Millions of Filipinos in U.S. mourn loss of family and friends; Hawaii just a signature away from legalizing same-sex marriage; For gay marriage activist, ENDA religious exemption 'stuck in a 90's time-warp' 00:17:58Childhood,Church & Ministry,Court decisions,Environment,Family,Homosexuality,Law & Justice,The Briefing,Audio,ENDA,Hawaii,kids,Legislative Prayer,Michelangelo Signorile,Parenting,Philippines,Religious Exemption,Same-Sex Marriage,Supreme CourtAs One with Authority: The Mandate of Biblical Expositionhttp://www.albertmohler.com/2013/11/11/expositors-summit-2013-general-session-1/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=expositors-summit-2013-general-session-1
http://www.albertmohler.com/2013/11/11/expositors-summit-2013-general-session-1/#commentsMon, 11 Nov 2013 06:24:02 +0000/?p=29105At the 2013 Expositors Summit at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, I preached on Matthew 7:28-29. In that passage, the crowds were astonished at the preaching of Jesus, who preached as one with authority, and not as their scribes. The Christian preacher must also preach as one with authority, but the authority is not our own, but the authority of the Word of God and the commission of Christ.

On December 12, 2008, I preached a message on the same text and theme to the graduating class of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary:

In 1971, just six years after being invited to teach New Testament and preaching at the Graduate Seminary of Phillips University, Fred Craddock put his thoughts on preaching into a book. That book, As One Without Authority, launched something of a revolution in preaching. Craddock proposed that preaching was on trial in the contemporary church, and that it was fast becoming an anachronism.

He reflected that the church might “celebrate the memory of preaching in ways appropriate to her gratitude and to affix plaques on old pulpits as an aid to those who tour the churches.” Yet, he warned, “the church cannot live on the thin diet of fond memories.”

Why did Craddock see such disaster for the pulpit? Among other contributing factors, Craddock cited “the loss of certainty and the increase in tentativeness on the part of the preacher.”

As he explained:

Rarely, if ever, in the history of the church have so many firm periods slumped into commas and so many triumphant exclamation marks curled into question marks. Those who speak with strong conviction on a topic are suspected of the heresy of premature finality. Permanent temples are to be abandoned as houses of idolatry; the true people of God are in tents again. It is the age of journalistic theology; even the Bible is out in paperback.

The result:

As a rule, younger ministers are keenly aware of the factors discussed above, and their preaching reflects it. Their predecessors ascended the pulpit to speak of the eternal certainties, truths etched forever in the granite of absolute reality, matters framed for proclamation, not for discussion. But where have all the absolutes gone? The old thunderbolts rust in the attic while the minister tries to lead his people through the morass of relativities and proximate possibilities, and the difficulties involved in finding and articulating a faith are not the congregation’s alone; they are the minister’s as well. How can he preach with a changing mind? How can he, facing new situations by the hour, speak the approximate word? He wants to speak and yet he needs more time for more certainty before speaking. His is often the misery of one who is always pregnant but never ready to give birth.

Craddock’s eloquent way of describing this looming disaster in the pulpit still impresses: periods turned to commas and exclamation points curled into question marks; thunderbolts are left in the attic as the preacher suffers as one pregnant but never able to give birth. This is an eloquent warning, but it is a seductive eloquence.

Professor Craddock’s warning retains the ring of the contemporary almost four decades after it was sounded. His description of the pulpit’s problem remains cogent and even prophetic when we observe the emaciated state of preaching in far too many churches. The last thing one expects to hear from many pulpits is a thunderbolt.

The title of Craddock’s book says it all: As One Without Authority. The biblical reference is all too clear. In Matthew 7:28-29 we read, “And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.”

Thus concludes the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew has just taken us through the Sermon and we have heard Jesus set forth a vision of life in the Kingdom of God that transcends our moral imagination and explodes our theological comforts. We thought we knew what God required of us. No murder and no adultery, for example. But Jesus now demands no anger and no lust. “You have heard it was said,” he begins, “but I say to you,” he concludes.

Jesus refused to act like an argumentative theologian or a speculative moralist. He rejected rabbinical reasoning and moral casuistry. He warns of hell and commands that we love our enemies. He warns us not to trust our bank accounts or retirement plans but to lay up treasures in heaven. He reminds us that we cannot add a day to our lives nor an inch to our height, but assures us that our heavenly Father will clothe us in more glory than the lilies of the field and care for us even more than he cares for the birds of the air.

He tells us to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and promises that all these things will be added to us. We are instructed to judge a tree by its fruit, even as we shall be judged. We are to build our house upon a rock and not upon the sand, for the house on the rock stands while the house on the sand falls, “and great was the fall of it” (Matt 7:27).

Jesus has turned our world upside down. The ones we thought were blessed are now cursed, and the ones we saw as cursed are promised to be blessed. We hear Jesus warn that some who sure look like prophets are false, and we hear him say that his judgment will be definitive: “I never knew you” (Matt 7:23).

Then we hear from the crowd: “And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes” (Matt 7:28-29).

The radical nature of Jesus’ ministry and teaching is on full display here, and it is all established upon his own authority. When Jesus teaches, he does not cite human authorities, enter into irrelevant debates, or cushion his words. He speaks on his own authority. He will make that authority clear by healing the sick, casting our demons, staring down the religious authorities, and, most clearly, by forgiving sins. At the end of Matthew’s gospel, he will announce that all authority in heaven and on earth has been granted him, and he will send his disciples out into the world as ambassadors of the Gospel.

This is all about authority. There would be no Gospel but for the display of this authority. There would be no church, no salvation, no forgiveness of sins, no hope.

Matthew tells us that the crowds were astonished at his teaching—astonished. They had never seen or heard anything like this. Every teacher they had ever heard cited other teachers as authorities. Their teachers hemmed and hawed, proposed and retracted, pitted one interpretation against another, and left themselves room for qualification.

The crowds recognized that Jesus teaches with an authority that is unprecedented and singular. He was teaching “as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.”

The scribes were the licensed teachers of the law. They interpreted the law by investigating precedent and tradition. Their rulings were approximate and carefully hedged. Nothing was conclusive. Tradition was placed upon tradition; interpretation laid alongside interpretation.

Jesus has already told the crowd that their righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and the Pharisees. Now, the crowd sees that the scribes’ authority is also just not enough. Once they have heard Jesus, they will never again listen to one without authority—nor should they.

The situation Fred Craddock described still defines far too many pulpits today. His prescription was inductive preaching—preaching that leaves the big questions unanswered, that lets the congregation come to its own conclusion. This is not the method of Jesus. Jesus uses induction in his teaching, but he never leaves the big questions unanswered—nor can we. He speaks as God. We speak as his preachers.

The preacher’s authority is a delegated authority, but a real authority. We are assigned the task of feeding the flock of God, of teaching the church, of preaching the Word. We do not speak as one who possesses authority, but as one who is called to serve the church by proclaiming, expounding, applying, and declaring the Word of God. We are those who have been called to a task and set apart for mission, as vessels who hold a saving message even as earthen vessels hold water.

Our authority is not our own. We are called to the task of preaching the Bible, in season and out of season. We are rightly to divide the Word of truth, and to teach the infinite riches of the Word of God. There are no certainties without the authority of the Scripture. We have nothing but commas and question marks to offer if we lose confidence in the inerrant and infallible Word of God. There are no thunderbolts where the Word of God is subverted, mistrusted, or ignored.

The crowds were astonished when they heard Jesus, “for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes” (Matt 7:29). Congregations are starving for the astonishment of hearing the preacher teach and preach on the authority of the Word of God. If there is a crisis in preaching, it is a crisis of confidence in the Word. If there is a road to recovery, it will be mapped by a return to biblical preaching.

Our hope and prayer is that you will go forth from here to fulfill a ministry of astonishment. To preach and teach and minister so that commas are turned back to periods, and question marks into exclamation points. Congregations long to have the thunderbolts brought down from the attic and loosed in their midst. They are starving for a word from God.

Go and astonish a church. Go and astonish the nations. Go and astonish sinners and saints alike. Go and astonish your generation. Go and astonish those who no longer even believe that they can be astonished.

Go and preach as one who has authority. Just remember always that the only true authority for ministry is biblical authority. May we always be mindful that the only authority that matters is God’s authority, and that God’s thunderbolts are what we must fear—and what we must seek.

If you go out and preach as one who has authority, you will be constantly amazed by what God does through the preaching of his Word. You will see those who hear you astonished—and no one will be more astonished than yourself.

I am always glad to hear from readers. Write me at mail@albertmohler.com. Follow regular updates on Twitter at www.twitter.com/albertmohler.

]]>http://www.albertmohler.com/2013/11/11/expositors-summit-2013-general-session-1/feed/0Albert MohlerAt the 2013 Expositors Summit at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, I preached on Matthew 7:28-29. In that passage, the crowds were astonished at the preaching of Jesus, who preached as one with authority, and not as their scribes. The Christian preacher must also preach as one with authority, but the authority is not our […]Bible,Blog,Church & Ministry,Conference,Preaching,Sermons and Speeches,Video,VideoFalling on Deaf Ears?—Why So Many Churches Hear So Little of the Biblehttp://www.albertmohler.com/2013/10/14/falling-on-deaf-ears-why-so-many-churches-hear-so-little-of-the-bible-2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=falling-on-deaf-ears-why-so-many-churches-hear-so-little-of-the-bible-2
http://www.albertmohler.com/2013/10/14/falling-on-deaf-ears-why-so-many-churches-hear-so-little-of-the-bible-2/#commentsMon, 14 Oct 2013 04:44:39 +0000/?p=28896

“It is well and good for the preacher to base his sermon on the Bible, but he better get to something relevant pretty quickly, or we start mentally to check out.” That stunningly clear sentence reflects one of the most amazing, tragic, and lamentable characteristics of contemporary Christianity: an impatience with the Word of God.

The sentence above comes from Mark Galli, senior managing editor of Christianity Today in an essay entitled, “Yawning at the Word.” In just a few hundred words, he captures the tragedy of a church increasingly impatient with and resistant to the reading and preaching of the Bible. We may wince when we read him relate his recent experiences, but we also recognize the ring of truth.

Galli was told to cut down on the biblical references in his sermon. “You’ll lose people,” the staff member warned. In a Bible study session on creation, the teacher was requested to come back the next Sunday prepared to take questions at the expense of reading the relevant scriptural texts on the doctrine. Cutting down on the number of Bible verses “would save time and, it was strongly implied, would better hold people’s interest.”

As Galli reflected, “Anyone who’s been in the preaching and teaching business knows these are not isolated examples but represent the larger reality.”

Indeed, in many churches there is very little reading of the Bible in worship, and sermons are marked by attention to the congregation’s concerns, not by an adequate attention to the biblical text. The exposition of the Bible has given way to the concerns, real or perceived, of the listeners. The authority of the Bible is swallowed up in the imposed authority of congregational concerns.

As Mark Galli notes:

It has been said to the point of boredom that we live in a narcissistic age, where we are wont to fixate on our needs, our wants, our wishes, and our hopes—at the expense of others and certainly at the expense of God. We do not like it when a teacher uses up the whole class time presenting her material, even if it is material from the Word of God. We want to be able to ask our questions about our concerns, otherwise we feel talked down to, or we feel the class is not relevant to our lives.

And Galli continues:

It is well and good for the preacher to base his sermon on the Bible, but he better get to something relevant pretty quickly, or we start mentally to check out. Don’t spend a lot of time in the Bible, we tell our preachers, but be sure to get to personal illustrations, examples from daily life, and most importantly, an application that we can use.

The fixation on our own sense of need and interest looms as the most significant factor in this marginalization and silencing of the Word. Individually, each human being in the room is an amalgam of wants, needs, intuitions, interests, and distractions. Corporately, the congregation is a mass of expectations, desperate hopes, consuming fears, and impatient urges. All of this adds up, unless countered by the authentic reading and preaching of the Word of God, to a form of group therapy, entertainment, and wasted time—if not worse.

Galli has this situation clearly in his sights when he asserts that many congregations expect the preacher to start from some text in the Bible, but then quickly move on “to things that really interest us.” Like . . . ourselves?

One of the earliest examples of what we would call the preaching of the Bible may well be found in Nehemiah 8:1-8 (ESV):

And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the Lord had commanded Israel. So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month. And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that they had made for the purpose. And beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand, and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam on his left hand. And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood. And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites, helped the people to understand the Law, while the people remained in their places. They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.

Ezra and his companions stood on a platform before the congregation. They read the scriptural text clearly, and then explained the meaning of the Scripture to the people. The congregation received the Word humbly, while standing. The pattern is profoundly easy to understand: the Bible was read and explained and received.

As Hughes Oliphant Old comments, “This account of the reading of the Law indicates that already at the time of the writing of this text there was a considerable amount of ceremonial framing of the public reading of Scripture. This ceremonial framing is a witness to the authority of the Bible.” The reading and exposition took place in a context of worship as the people listened to the Word of God. The point of the sermon was simple: “to make clear the reading of the Scriptures.”

In many churches, there is almost no public reading of the Word of God. Worship is filled with music, but congregations seem disinterested in listening to the reading of the Bible. We are called to sing in worship, but the congregation cannot live only on the portions of Scripture that are woven into songs and hymns. Christians need the ministry of the Word as the Bible is read before the congregation such that God’s people—young and old, rich and poor, married and unmarried, sick and well—hear it together. The sermon is to consist of the exposition of the Word of God, powerfully and faithfully read, explained, and applied. It is not enough that the sermon take a biblical text as its starting point.

How can so many of today’s churches demonstrate what can only be described as an impatience with the Word of God? The biblical formula is clear: the neglect of the Word can only lead to disaster, disobedience, and death. God rescues his church from error, preserves his church in truth, and propels his church in witness only by his Word—not by congregational self-study.

In the end, an impatience with the Word of God can be explained only by an impatience with God. We all, both individually and congregationally, neglect God’s Word to our own ruin.

I am always glad to hear from readers. Write me at mail@albertmohler.com. Follow regular updates on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AlbertMohler.

The Expositors Summit 2013 at Southern Seminary—October 29-31

The goal of Christian preaching is nothing less than the glory of God in the Christlikeness of his people. For this reason, The Expositors Summit 2013 at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary will seek to restore the primacy of expository preaching to the pulpits of local churches. Pastors, students, and all who love the Scriptures are invited to come hear Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr., H.B. Charles Jr., and Alistair Begg as the keynote speakers (along with other gifted leaders in various seminars).

]]>http://www.albertmohler.com/2013/10/14/falling-on-deaf-ears-why-so-many-churches-hear-so-little-of-the-bible-2/feed/0Albert Mohler“It is well and good for the preacher to base his sermon on the Bible, but he better get to something relevant pretty quickly, or we start mentally to check out.” That stunningly clear sentence reflects one of the most amazing, tragic, and lamentable characteristics of contemporary Christianity: an impatience with the Word of God. […]Bible,Blog,Church & Ministry,Preaching,Trends,Bible,Expository Preaching,Pulpit Ministry,sufficiency of ScriptureStronger Together, Serving Together, Sending Together—The State Baptist Conventions and the SBChttp://www.albertmohler.com/2013/09/16/stronger-together-serving-together-sending-together-the-state-baptist-conventions-and-the-sbc/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=stronger-together-serving-together-sending-together-the-state-baptist-conventions-and-the-sbc
http://www.albertmohler.com/2013/09/16/stronger-together-serving-together-sending-together-the-state-baptist-conventions-and-the-sbc/#commentsTue, 17 Sep 2013 02:01:54 +0000/?p=28556Fall brings the opening of the new school year, the energy of the season of autumn and, for Southern Baptists, the meeting of the state Baptist conventions. In coming weeks, most of our state conventions will be holding their annual meetings. Pastors and laypeople will gather from local churches and assemble as a convention of Baptist churches. There is a glory in these meetings, and they affirm our need for these state conventions and their ministries.

A younger generation of Southern Baptists may well be unaware of the importance of the state conventions and their work. They would be well-advised to attend their local state convention and catch a vision of what the Baptist churches in their states are doing together.

Americans are regularly reminded that states matter. Our political system respects the role of the individual states, and most Americans identify not only as citizens of the United States, but as residents of their respective states. This does not make our nation weaker. We are stronger because the states retain an important role in building communities and building the nations. As our national experience has shown, there is great gain in recognizing the priority of the local, even in the building of the nation.

In Southern Baptist life, the same is profoundly true of our state conventions. If the state conventions did not exist, we would have to invent them. There is a need for Baptist churches within every state to coordinate and combine their energies for the cause of the Great Commission and the task of reaching the communities in their own state and region. This does not weaken the Southern Baptist Convention—it makes us stronger.

Respect for the state conventions comes naturally to me. As a boy, I participated in camps and programs for children and young people. Soon after my conversion, I boarded a church bus and headed for Lake Yale, the assembly of the Florida Baptist Convention. The first real exposure I had to the scope and scale of Southern Baptist mission work came when I was a nine-year-old boy sitting in the auditorium at Lake Yale. I came back year after year, attending Royal Ambassador Camp and an assortment of camps and retreats and conferences. The imprint of those experiences remains on my life even now.

As a young man called to the ministry, I headed to Samford University where I received the gift of education for ministry from a school founded by Alabama Baptists—at least part of the tuition for my education came directly through the Alabama Baptist Convention. As a young ministerial student, I was exposed to preaching and evangelism through the Alabama state evangelism conferences and I saw the cooperative ministries work by attending the Alabama Baptist Convention annual meeting. When I was elected president of the student Ministerial Association, Samford’s president, Dr. Leslie S. Wright, invited me to attend the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions with him. I learned how Baptists work together.

Later, as a pastor and seminary student, I saw the cooperative ministries of the Kentucky Baptist Convention and was able to participate in its work. Later, I was elected editor of The Christian Index and shifted my ministry to the context of the Georgia Baptist Convention. I was immersed in the life of that state convention, and I saw first-hand that it was doing important work that would otherwise be left undone.

When disaster strikes, state disaster relief teams are first on the scene. When a pastor needs help, the state convention is close at hand. When strategies for reaching America’s urban areas are developed, state conventions are on the front lines. State conventions remember the rural churches and are there to combine strengths and walk alongside those congregations serving the heartland.

At the same time, the state conventions have the world on their hearts. Increasingly, our leading state conventions are increasing their commitment to the support of national ministries and the reaching of the nations. Many of these conventions have taken courageous steps to send a greater percentage of Cooperative Program funds to the cause of reaching the nations with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. These state conventions have made sacrifices for the Great Commission cause and are mobilizing churches to reach not only their communities, but the world.

Now is the time for Southern Baptists committed to the Great Commission to show up and support our state conventions, to attend our annual convention meetings, and to support every effort to reach our individual states, our nation, and the nations with the Gospel.

As a committed Southern Baptist, I would not know who I am without the state conventions that have contributed so much to my life and ministry. As president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, I am proud and thankful to be in partnership with every one of our state conventions, and I want my students and faculty to share this pride and gratitude.

So, as the Southern Baptists in your state head for their annual meetings, determine to join them, to pray for them, to support them in Cooperative Program giving, and to strengthen the Great Commission vision and energy you will find there. Southern Baptists will never be bolder in mission and ministry than when we strengthen these bonds and stand together. Bring the full wealth of your conviction and the full passion of your desire for reaching your state, our nation, and all nations with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Stronger together. Serving together. Sending together.

I am always glad to hear from readers. Write me at mail@albertmohler.com. Follow regular updates on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AlbertMohler.

]]>http://www.albertmohler.com/2013/09/16/stronger-together-serving-together-sending-together-the-state-baptist-conventions-and-the-sbc/feed/0Albert MohlerFall brings the opening of the new school year, the energy of the season of autumn and, for Southern Baptists, the meeting of the state Baptist conventions. In coming weeks, most of our state conventions will be holding their annual meetings. Pastors and laypeople will gather from local churches and assemble as a convention of […]Church & Ministry,Marked Urgent,SBC,Cooperative Program,Great Commission,SBC,Southern Baptist Convention,State Baptist ConventionThe Man from Issachar—An Address at the Inauguration of Russell D. Moorehttp://www.albertmohler.com/2013/09/12/the-man-from-issachar-an-address-at-the-inauguration-of-russell-d-moore/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-man-from-issachar-an-address-at-the-inauguration-of-russell-d-moore
http://www.albertmohler.com/2013/09/12/the-man-from-issachar-an-address-at-the-inauguration-of-russell-d-moore/#commentsThu, 12 Sep 2013 06:21:37 +0000/?p=28453THE MAN FROM ISSACHAR

An Address Delivered in the City of Washington, D.C. upon the Inauguration of Russell D. Moore as President of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention on Tuesday, September 10, 2013 at Capitol Hill Baptist Church by R. Albert Mohler, Jr., President of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Without a providential understanding of time and history, one is left with the affirmation that human affairs are often guided by a series of very happy coincidences. At just the right time, the right leader emerges to fill a crucial need. The intersection of an individual life and a demonstrable need meet in a moment and in a person. We celebrate just such an intersection today, but I am not able to describe it as a coincidence. I believe that the providence of God is today demonstrated in the intersection of a man and a moment—in the inauguration of Russell D. Moore as President of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention.

First, I point to the character and giftedness of this man. I can remember the very first conversation I had with Russell Moore. In that first meeting, I caught a glimpse of his intelligence, his conviction, and his ambitions. I knew then that he was out to change the world, but that his first loyalty and constant horizon is not this world, but the world that is already but not yet—in other words, not the kingdoms of this world but the Kingdom of our God and of His Christ.

His intellect is first rate, as is his scholarship. He came as a Doctor of Philosophy student and transformed his doctoral dissertation into a manifesto for kingdom ministry and cultural engagement. His intelligence is energetic and his wit always on hand. To talk with Russ is to enter into a world of ideas undergirded by conviction and footnoted with readings.

He is not merely fascinated by ideas, he is a true public intellectual. He belongs to that class of thinkers who are not merely collectors of ideas but movers of minds. He is a master of communicating those ideas and he knows how to make truth come alive as a living force.

He is one of the most natural conversationalists I have ever encountered. He is like the Victorians who could enter any room and join the conversation and immediately add to it. He is a voracious reader who is a walking bibliography and a library on legs. He comes alive when a book or an idea or a problem or a personality comes to attention.

Amitai Etzioni has distinguished between two classes of public intellectuals: those who are generalists (who can speak about anything intelligently) and those who are disciplinary (who can speak with unique authority within a specific field). Russ combines the best of both. He can talk about almost anything; but he talks with the authority of one who knows of what he speaks.

Above all, Russell Moore is a Christian thinker. In this construction, “Christian” operates as a noun, not as an adjective. He does not merely think like a Christian, he thinks as a Christian. His personal commitment to Christ, to the total truthfulness and trustworthiness of the Word of God, and to the faith once for all delivered to the saints is clear and tested. He is a defender of the faith and a Christian intellectual who dearly and deeply loves the Christian faith.

Russell Moore is a Baptist by conviction and a Southern Baptist by passion. He is a member of the tribe who transcends tribalism. He is not a Baptist by accident. His commitment to the free church in a free state and to the elegant simplicity of Baptist ecclesiology is clear. He is a conversionist and a churchman. He is deeply committed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to the Great Commission. He knows the Southern Baptist Convention and he loves Southern Baptists with an eyes-open love. Thus, he can lead Southern Baptists. The late Carlyle Marney once said of Southern Baptists, “We may not be much but we are many.” Russ Moore is representative of a generation of leaders needed to make much of many.

He is, as no less than Augustine described the Christian teacher, one who is passionately committed to truth because he stakes his life on this truth and is himself transformed by this truth. He is, as our common mentor Carl F. H. Henry would define, a Christian thinker who is unreservedly committed to the totality of the comprehensive truth claim of the Christian world and life view.

All that, and he has a sense of humor. Russ Moore has an ear for irony and a readiness to be found joyful. Like G. K. Chesterton and C. S. Lewis, he knows that the deepest truths reveal the deepest joys, even as the reality of our human foibles reveals humor, whether we like it or not. Like Flannery O’Connor, he has an eye for the bare reality of truth, knowing, as Flannery would remind us, “Truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it.”

He is a leader who knows how to run a great enterprise. At a very early age he became Dean of the School of Theology at the mother seminary of the Southern Baptist Convention, serving also as its Senior Vice President for Academic Administration. His reputation as a leader is well attested. He is a leader, an administrator, and an energetic catalyst for good. At the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission he comes to a work well established and much respected. He will build it and take it into the future.

He is also a faithful husband and a compassionate father. To know Russ is to know that he is the husband of Maria, and the father of Benjamin, Timothy, Samuel, Jonah, and Taylor. He finds joy in his home, and he has a joyful home in which to establish his life, both public and private. His dependence upon Maria is transparent, as is his joy in his sons.

He is a theologian of conviction, a leader of great ability, a teacher of righteousness, a preacher of rare ability and power, and a thinker who knows how and when and where to think out loud. He is an ethicist by reflex, by training, and by experience. He is a colleague with whom I have spent countless hours in joyful conversation and gone through times of trial and great challenge. I know what he is made of. I know where he comes from. I know who he is. I know his ambitions. He is not a self-made man, but a man well made for these times.

So we know the man, but what of the times? Twenty-five years ago, Carl Henry warned:

Our generation is lost to the truth of God, to the reality of divine revelation, to the content of God’s will, to the power of his redemption, and to the authority of His Word. For this loss it is paying dearly in a swift relapse to paganism. The savages are stirring again; you can hear them rumbling and rustling in the tempo of our times.[1]

The last quarter century since Henry’s statement of our crisis has brought no reversal of the trends he observed. To the contrary, the formerly Christian West is, in many sectors, so thoroughly secularized that it now has no consciousness of even being so. The Christian truth claim was reduced to a Christian memory, and now even that memory is gone. Our confidence in American exceptionalism is now fully shaken. If anything, America now seems to be secularizing in a delayed pattern, as compared to Europe, but perhaps even faster on its present course. As the Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor reminds us, for millions of people in our civilization, and especially among the elites, belief in God is now, according to their own thinking, virtually impossible.

Many decades ago, the Quaker philosopher Elton Trueblood identified America as a “cut-flower civilization”—its flower cut off from the only source of its sustenance. Those roots have further receded from the cultural horizon.

We are now in the midst of a moral revolution marked by a comprehensive scope and velocity that are perhaps without precedent in human experience. We find ourselves looking at a moral world that is changing right before our eyes, and many Christians seem both bewildered and fearful—precisely because they are.

But the real crisis is not in the world, but in the church. More than sixty years ago, Carl Henry (whose 100th birthday we would mark this year), reminded the evangelicals of that day that the failure was ours before it was a failure in the world.

It was the failure of Fundamentalism to work out a positive message within its own framework, and its tendency instead to take further refuge in a despairing view of world history, that cut off the pertinence of evangelicalism to the modern global crisis. The really creative thought, even if done in a non-redemptive context, was now being done by non-evangelical spokesmen.[2]

Through this analysis of the problem, what Henry called The Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism, he called evangelicals to a new mode of cultural and intellectual engagement.

“There is a rising tide of reaction in Fundamentalism today—a reaction born of uneasy conscience and determined no longer to becloud the challenge of the Gospel in modern times,” Henry wrote. “It is a reaction to which the best minds of evangelicalism are bending their effort these days, convinced that no synthesis is more relevant than modern frustration and biblical redemptionism.”[3]

In other words, he saw a generation coming, and he saw the likes of Russell Moore on the horizon. We dare not underestimate the challenges before us. We are living in a cut-flower civilization. There is a new paganism growing rapidly around us. There are threats to human life and human flourishing at every hand. We do see the ramparts of the family and the faith being both scaled and taken down. Religious liberty is under direct threat and we find ourselves in a moment of great civilizational peril. The culture of death is now institutionalized and made more ominous yet by technology. America has grown more polarized within and seems to be without a clear sense of itself within the international order. The most fundamental, essential, and pre-political institutions of human life and culture are now up for radical revision to the point of destruction. The scale of the crisis defies exaggeration.

And yet, these are precisely the conditions for optimal Christian witness. Under these conditions, the keenest edge of Christian thinking is soon evident and the operation of a genuinely Christian mind is transformative. The church is revealed to be what we know it to be, the kingdom community of the blood-bought, deployed in this world even as we belong truly to the world to come. This is no time for the weak-kneed or for weak thinking. These times call forth the deepest level and highest quality of Christian thinking, cultural engagement, Gospel-mindedness, strategic ambition, and churchly demonstration.

We do not choose our times, but this is a time for choosing. In the last era of the Roman Empire, Bishop Augustine chose to find his bearings for the City of Man within the greater love of the City of God. A time of crisis can bring us to surrender and lose heart, or it can produce The City of God or the Letter from Birmingham Jail.

I think Russ Moore’s legendary love of country music will serve him well. He knows how to speak of brokenness answered with hope and mercy. And he knows, as Johnny Cash would remind us, “there’s a man goin’ round, taking names.”

In 1 Chronicles 12:32, we read of the men of the tribe of Issachar, “who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do.” We know Russell Moore as a man from Mississippi. I think he is really a man from Issachar. I think he has an understanding of the times, and he knows what God’s people ought to do.

The man and the moment have come together and, like you, I don’t for a moment believe it is a coincidence.

]]>http://www.albertmohler.com/2013/09/12/the-man-from-issachar-an-address-at-the-inauguration-of-russell-d-moore/feed/0Albert MohlerTHE MAN FROM ISSACHAR An Address Delivered in the City of Washington, D.C. upon the Inauguration of Russell D. Moore as President of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention on Tuesday, September 10, 2013 at Capitol Hill Baptist Church by R. Albert Mohler, Jr., President of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Without a providential understanding […]Church & Ministry,Ethics,Law & Justice,Marked Urgent,Religious Freedom,SBC,Dr. Russell Moore,ERLC,Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission,Russell Moore,SBC,Southern Baptist ConventionPreaching with Authority: Three Characteristics of Expository Preachinghttp://www.albertmohler.com/2013/09/06/preaching-with-authority-three-characteristics-of-expository-preaching/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=preaching-with-authority-three-characteristics-of-expository-preaching
http://www.albertmohler.com/2013/09/06/preaching-with-authority-three-characteristics-of-expository-preaching/#commentsFri, 06 Sep 2013 06:12:26 +0000/?p=28393Authentic expository preaching is marked by three distinct characteristics: authority, reverence, and centrality. Expository preaching is authoritative because it stands upon the very authority of the Bible as the word of God. Such preaching requires and reinforces a sense of reverent expectation on the part of God’s people. Finally, expository preaching demands the central place in Christian worship and is respected as the event through which the living God speaks to his people.

A keen analysis of our contemporary age comes from sociologist Richard Sennett of New York University. Sennett notes that in times past a major anxiety of most persons was loss of governing authority. Now, the tables have been turned, and modern persons are anxious about any authority over them: “We have come to fear the influence of authority as a threat to our liberties, in the family and in society at large.” If previous generations feared the absence of authority, today we see “a fear of authority when it exists.”

Some homileticians suggest that preachers should simply embrace this new worldview and surrender any claim to an authoritative message. Those who have lost confidence in the authority of the Bible as the word of God are left with little to say and no authority for their message. Fred Craddock, among the most influential figures in recent homiletic thought, famously describes today’s preacher “as one without authority.” His portrait of the preacher’s predicament is haunting: “The old thunderbolts rust in the attic while the minister tries to lead his people through the morass of relativities and proximate possibilities.” “No longer can the preacher presuppose the general recognition of his authority as a clergyman, or the authority of his institution, or the authority of Scripture,” Craddock argues. Summarizing the predicament of the postmodern preacher, he relates that the preacher “seriously asks himself whether he should continue to serve up monologue in a dialogical world.”

The obvious question to pose to Craddock’s analysis is this: If we have no authoritative message, why preach? Without authority, the preacher and the congregation are involved in a massive waste of precious time. The very idea that preaching can be transformed into a dialogue between the pulpit and the pew indicates the confusion of our era.

Contrasted to this is the note of authority found in all true expository preaching. As Martyn Lloyd-Jones notes:

Any study of church history, and particularly any study of the great periods of revival or reawakening, demonstrates above everything else just this one fact: that the Christian Church during all such periods has spoken with authority. The great characteristic of all revivals has been the authority of the preacher. There seemed to be something new, extra, and irresistible in what he declared on behalf of God.

The preacher dares to speak on behalf of God. He stands in the pulpit as a steward “of the mysteries of God” (1 Cor 4:1) and declares the truth of God’s word, proclaims the power of that word, and applies the word to life. This is an admittedly audacious act. No one should even contemplate such an endeavor without absolute confidence in a divine call to preach and in the unblemished authority of the Scriptures.

In the final analysis, the ultimate authority for preaching is the authority of the Bible as the word of God. Without this authority, the preacher stands naked and silent before the congregation and the watching world. If the Bible is not the word of God, the preacher is involved in an act of self-delusion or professional pretension.

Standing on the authority of Scripture, the preacher declares a truth received, not a message invented. The teaching office is not an advisory role based on religious expertise, but a prophetic function whereby God speaks to his people.

Authentic expository preaching is also marked by reverence. The congregation that gathered before Ezra and the other preachers demonstrated a love and reverence for the word of God (Neh 8). When the book was read, the people stood up. This act of standing reveals the heart of the people and their sense of expectation as the word was read and preached.

Expository preaching requires an attitude of reverence on the part of the congregation. Preaching is not a dialogue, but it does involve at least two parties—the preacher and the congregation. The congregation’s role in the preaching event is to hear, receive, and obey the word of God. In so doing, the church demonstrates reverence for the preaching and teaching of the Bible and understands that the sermon brings the word of Christ near to the congregation. This is true worship.

Lacking reverence for the word of God, many congregations are caught in a frantic quest for significance in worship. Christians leave worship services asking each other, “Did you get anything out of that?” Churches produce surveys to measure expectations for worship: Would you like more music? What kind? How about drama? Is our preacher sufficiently creative?

Expository preaching demands a very different set of questions. Will I obey the word of God? How must my thinking be realigned by Scripture? How must I change my behavior to be fully obedient to the word? These questions reveal submission to the authority of God and reverence for the Bible as his word.

Likewise, the preacher must demonstrate his own reverence for God’s word by dealing truthfully and responsibly with the text. He must not be flippant or casual, much less dismissive or disrespectful. Of this we can be certain, no congregation will revere the Bible more than the preacher does.

If expository preaching is authoritative, and if it demands reverence, it must also be at the center of Christian worship. Worship properly directed to the honor and glory of God will find its center in the reading and preaching of the word of God. Expository preaching cannot be assigned a supporting role in the act of worship—it must be central.

In the course of the Reformation, Luther’s driving purpose was to restore preaching to its proper place in Christian worship. Referring to the incident between Mary and Martha in Luke 10, Luther reminded his congregation and students that Jesus Christ declared that “only one thing is necessary,” the preaching of the word (Luke 10:42). Therefore, Luther’s central concern was to reform worship in the churches by re-establishing there the centrality of the reading and preaching of the word.

That same reformation is needed in American evangelicalism today. Expository preaching must once again be central to the life of the church and central to Christian worship. In the end, the church will not be judged by its Lord for the quality of its music but for the faithfulness of its preaching.

When today’s evangelicals speak casually of the distinction between worship and preaching (meaning that the church will enjoy an offering of music before adding on a bit of preaching), they betray their misunderstanding of both worship and the act of preaching. Worship is not something we do before we settle down for the word of God; it is the act through which the people of God direct all their attentiveness to the one true and living God who speaks to them and receives their praises. God is most beautifully praised when his people hear his word, love his word, and obey his word.

As in the Reformation, the most important corrective to our corruption of worship (and defense against the consumerist demands of the day) is to rightly return expository preaching and the public reading of God’s word to primacy and centrality in worship. Only then will the “missing jewel” be truly rediscovered.

I am always glad to hear from readers. Write me at mail@albertmohler.com. Follow regular updates on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AlbertMohler.

The goal of Christian preaching is nothing less than the glory of God in the Christlikeness of his people. For this reason, The Expositors Summit 2013 at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary will seek to restore the primacy of expository preaching to the pulpits of local churches. Pastors, students, and all who love the Scriptures are invited to come hear Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr., H.B. Charles Jr., and Alistair Begg as the keynote speakers (along with other gifted leaders in various seminars).

]]>http://www.albertmohler.com/2013/09/06/preaching-with-authority-three-characteristics-of-expository-preaching/feed/0Albert MohlerAuthentic expository preaching is marked by three distinct characteristics: authority, reverence, and centrality. Expository preaching is authoritative because it stands upon the very authority of the Bible as the word of God. Such preaching requires and reinforces a sense of reverent expectation on the part of God’s people. Finally, expository preaching demands the central place […]Bible,Blog,Church & Ministry,Preaching,Christian Growth,Expository Preaching,Pulpit MinistryMartin Luther King, Jr. at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminaryhttp://www.albertmohler.com/2013/08/28/martin-luther-king-at-the-southern-baptist-theological-seminary/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=martin-luther-king-at-the-southern-baptist-theological-seminary
http://www.albertmohler.com/2013/08/28/martin-luther-king-at-the-southern-baptist-theological-seminary/#commentsWed, 28 Aug 2013 16:33:03 +0000/?p=28276On April 19, 1961, Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered the Julius B. Gay Lecture at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. As historian Gregory A. Wills explains:

On April 19, 1961, Martin Luther King, Jr. addressed the seminary community in a packed chapel. The faculty invited King to give his address as the seminary’s Julius Brown Gay Lecturer. King challenged the seminarian that the church had a central role to play in ending segregation. The church should teach the equality of all races and the destructive character of racial segregation. It should counter the racists’ inflammatory rhetoric and assure white society that the “basic aim of the Negro is to be the white man’s brother and not his brother-in-law.” As true followers of Jesus Christ, they should be “maladjusted” to the “evils of segregation and discrimination” and lead their churches to “move out into the realm of social reform.” It was King’s familiar message, but no one missed the significance of its being given at the oldest seminary in the largely segregated Southern Baptist Convention.

On the fiftieth anniversary of the March on Washington, listening to King’s words at Southern Seminary brings a new sense of historical importance.

]]>http://www.albertmohler.com/2013/08/20/the-briefing-08-20-13/feed/0Albert MohlerGov Christie bans sexual orientation therapy: "If born that way, hard to say its a sin."; Worldview Reveal: Blaming increased cost of adult consumption on raising kids; PCUSA votes down "repentance of sin and diligent use of means of grace" for ministers00:18:27Childhood,Church & Ministry,Economy & Work,Family,Homosexuality,Law & Justice,Marriage,Parental rights,Politics,Preaching,Secularism,Sexual Revolution,The Briefing,Trends,United States,Audio,Christie,Cost of Children,Gay Conversion Therapy,New Jersey,PCUSA,Single Mothers,Single Parents,WelfareHas God Called You? Discerning the Call to Preachhttp://www.albertmohler.com/2013/07/19/has-god-called-you-discerning-the-call-to-preach-2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=has-god-called-you-discerning-the-call-to-preach-2
http://www.albertmohler.com/2013/07/19/has-god-called-you-discerning-the-call-to-preach-2/#commentsFri, 19 Jul 2013 20:43:21 +0000/?p=27781Has God called you to ministry? Though all Christians are called to serve the cause of Christ, God calls certain persons to serve the Church as pastors and other ministers. Writing to young Timothy, the Apostle Paul confirmed that if a man aspires to be a pastor, “it is a fine work he aspires to do” (1 Tim 3:1, NASB). Likewise, it is a high honor to be called of God into the ministry of the Church. How do you know if God is calling you?

First, there is an inward call. Through His Spirit, God speaks to those persons He has called to serve as pastors and ministers of His Church. The great Reformer Martin Luther described this inward call as “God’s voice heard by faith.” Those whom God has called know this call by a sense of leading, purpose, and growing commitment.

Charles Spurgeon identified the first sign of God’s call to the ministry as “an intense, all-absorbing desire for the work.” Those called by God sense a growing compulsion to preach and teach the Word, and to minister to the people of God.

This sense of compulsion should prompt the believer to consider whether God may be calling him to the ministry. Has God gifted you with the fervent desire to preach? Has He equipped you with the gifts necessary for ministry? Do you love God’s Word and feel called to teach? Spurgeon warned those who sought his counsel not to preach if they could help it. “But,” Spurgeon continued, “if he cannot help it, and he must preach or die, then he is the man.” That sense of urgent commission is one of the central marks of an authentic call.

Second, there is the external call. Baptists believe that God uses the congregation to “call out the called” to ministry. The congregation must evaluate and affirm the calling and gifts of the believer who feels called to the ministry. As a family of faith, the congregation should recognize and celebrate the gifts of ministry given to its members, and take responsibility to encourage those whom God has called to respond to that call with joy and submission.

These days, many persons think of careers rather than callings. The biblical challenge to “consider your call” should be extended from the call to salvation to the call to the ministry.

John Newton, famous for writing “Amazing Grace,” once remarked: “None but He who made the world can make a Minister of the Gospel.” Only God can call a true minister, and only He can grant the minister the gifts necessary for service. But the great promise of Scripture is that God does call ministers, and presents these servants as gifts to the Church.

One key issue here is a common misunderstanding about the will of God. Some models of evangelical piety imply that God’s will is something difficult for us to accept. We sometimes confuse this further by talking about “surrendering” to the will of God. As Paul makes clear in Romans 12:2, the will of God is good, worthy of eager acceptance, and perfect. Those called by God to preach will be given a desire to preach as well as the gift of preaching. Beyond this, the God-called preacher will feel the same compulsion as the great Apostle, who said, “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Cor 9:16, ESV).

Consider your calling. Do you sense that God is calling you to ministry, whether as a pastor or as another servant of the Church? Do you burn with a compulsion to proclaim the Word, share the Gospel, and care for God’s flock? Has this call been confirmed and encouraged by those Christians who know you best?

God still calls . . . has He called you?

This article is republished by request. For further information on discerning the call to ministry, contact Ben Dockery, Director of Admissions at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Ben and his staff will be glad to help you discern God’s call in your life, and what this means as you prepare for the future. Write Ben at bdockery@sbts.edu.

I am always glad to hear from readers. Write me at mail@albertmohler.com. Follow regular updates on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AlbertMohler.
]]>http://www.albertmohler.com/2013/07/19/has-god-called-you-discerning-the-call-to-preach-2/feed/0Albert MohlerHas God called you to ministry? Though all Christians are called to serve the cause of Christ, God calls certain persons to serve the Church as pastors and other ministers. Writing to young Timothy, the Apostle Paul confirmed that if a man aspires to be a pastor, “it is a fine work he aspires to […]Bible,Blog,Church & Ministry,Preaching,Call to Ministry,external call,God's Will,internal call,Ministerial Calling,PreachingTruth, Trust, and Testimony in a Time of Tension — The SBC and its Futurehttp://www.albertmohler.com/2013/06/11/truth-trust-and-testimony-in-a-time-of-tension-the-sbc-and-its-future/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=truth-trust-and-testimony-in-a-time-of-tension-the-sbc-and-its-future
http://www.albertmohler.com/2013/06/11/truth-trust-and-testimony-in-a-time-of-tension-the-sbc-and-its-future/#commentsTue, 11 Jun 2013 13:50:53 +0000/?p=27495As the 2013 Southern Baptist Convention convenes this morning in Houston, theological issues will be ever close at hand. This is as it should be, for Baptists are a theological people. The history of the Southern Baptist Convention has been a legacy of significant doctrinal debates and controversies — most of them over issues that matter. There is no embarrassment in this, for the only way to avoid doctrinal debate is to assume a lowest-common-denominator level of doctrine that is unworthy of a people committed to the Gospel of Christ.

In other words, doctrinal controversy and debate can be a sign of denominational vitality, rather than an assured sign of denominational trouble. The key word in that sentence is can. There is no assurance that doctrinal controversy will stay healthy and vital. It is up to the participants in a controversy to keep it healthy and the entire denomination has the responsibility to urge participants to be respectful, honest, and Gospel-centered.

In recent years, Calvinism has been the focus of intense debate within the Southern Baptist Convention. There are influential figures within the SBC who fervently desire the denomination to move in a more explicitly and comprehensively Calvinistic direction. There are others who are just as fervently committed to prevent that from taking place. This debate is partly generational, partly theological, and, more recently, intensely personal.

A year ago, SBC Executive Committee President Frank Page announced his intention to form a Calvinism Advisory Task Force to advise him about this issue. He also hoped that the task force, made up of figures on all sides of the debate, could model the way such a controversy should be handled and discussion should be conducted. Just prior to the convention meeting, that task force released its report, a statement entitled “Truth, Trust, and Testimony in a Time of Tension.”

That report, excerpted and linked below, was unanimously adopted by all members of the task force. I, along with Dr. Eric Hankins, pastor of First Baptist Church in Oxford, Mississippi, were the primary drafters of the statement. We worked together at the request of Dr. Page and Dr. David S. Dockery, President of Union University, who were co-chairmen of the committee. Eric and I worked for several weeks, and spent intensive time working on the text of the statement. Eric and I come from different positions in this controversy. I am publicly known as one committed to a Reformed soteriology. Eric is well known as one who would not hold to a Reformed soteriology. We are both very committed to our theological convictions. They are indeed convictions, not just convenient positions. We believe our convictions to be deeply grounded in the Bible and in biblical theology. We disagree on many issues.

At the same time, we are both Southern Baptists. We are also Southern Baptists by conviction and long heritage. Eric and I are both committed to the heritage of the SBC, and to its future. We worked together because we were assigned to do so, but also because we were both willing to do so. Our willingness grew out of those very convictions.

We had to work with intensity in writing this statement. The experience of working together meant that we had to work hard to understand what the other was saying, and what he was meaning to say. We were then able, on behalf of the larger task force, to compose a statement in a sincere attempt to state what we believe together, where we disagree, and how we intend to work together despite disagreements.

We started out committed to a great core of doctrinal convictions. We worked together to state accurately and honestly our commitment to our own doctrinal convictions and concerns. Throughout the process we were committed to the Southern Baptist Convention and to the work of the Great Commission for which this denomination was formed and for which it exists to this day. As we did so, we were also committed to each other. In the end, that was absolutely crucial. We both thought better, expressed our convictions more accurately, and sought to respect each other, precisely because we were committed to each other as theologians, as ministers of the Gospel, as Southern Baptists, and as friends.

Our sincere hope is that Southern Baptists will be served by this statement. It is an honest statement of great common agreement, and of significant disagreement. That ground of vast agreement on the Gospel and Baptist convictions, mixed with disagreement over specific doctrinal questions, puts us right back where the SBC was founded.

The statement’s title is not accidental. The words are sequential. Truth comes first, then trust. We speak from deep conviction, based upon a common commitment to the inerrancy of Scripture and to the faith once for all delivered the saints. We trust each other, not because we agree on everything, but because we agree where it matters most. We also trust each other because we know each other, not just as participants in debate, but as friends of truth and co-laborers in Christ’s kingdom. We also trust each other because we know each other, learn from each other, and like each other. We are brothers in Christ, not just figures in a great debate.

Out of truth comes trust, and that trust produces a common testimony — even a common testimony about where we disagree. We are thankful that the Southern Baptist Convention is engaged in this debate, and not the debates over core doctrines and biblical morality that are shattering liberal Protestantism.

One symptom of a toxic theological debate is the tendency to write about one another rather than to talk to each other. I am committed, especially after the experience of working together on this statement, to pick up the phone before I pick up my pen.

The statement is now released to the Southern Baptist Convention, and the only authority it bears is the authority of a compelling message. We sincerely hope it is compelling. Given the Great Commission task assigned to us by Christ, we dare not waste one moment in a swamp of unhealthy debate. Based on our common commitment to truth, we can trust each other. Trusting each other, we can bear testimony together. And, by God’s grace, we can gladly serve together, even in a time of tension.

From the statement:

Southern Baptists are Great Commission people. We are also a doctrinal people, and those doctrinal convictions undergird our Great Commission vision and passion. We are a confessional people, who stand together upon the doctrines most vital to us all, confessed together in The Baptist Faith and Message.

Within this common confession, we sometimes disagree over certain theological issues that should not threaten our Great Commission cooperation. We recognize that significant theological disagreement on such issues has occurred with respect to Calvinism. It is, therefore, our responsibility to come together with open hearts and minds in order to speak truthfully, honestly, and respectfully about these theological and doctrinal issues that concern us, threaten to divide us, and compel us into conversation. Such engagement is appropriate at every level of Southern Baptist life including local congregations, associations, state conventions, and the Southern Baptist Convention.

This spirit of conversation has been the hallmark of the meetings of the Calvinism Advisory Committee. We have spent hours together in fruitful, respectful, and candid conversation. We entered these conversations as brothers and sisters in Christ and as faithful and thankful Southern Baptists. Our purpose was neither to resolve centuries of doctrinal disagreement nor to consume ourselves with doctrinal debate. Our purpose was to suggest a course for moving forward together while taking seriously and representing fairly the theological diversity that exists in and has been the strength of Southern Baptist life.

Four central issues have become clear to us as we have met together. We affirm together that Southern Baptists must stand without apology upon truth; that we do indeed have some challenging but not insurmountable points of tension; that we must work together with trust; and that we must encourage one another to testimony.

The entire statement may be found here: http://www.sbclife.org/Articles/2013/06/sla5.asp

I am always glad to hear from readers. Write me at mail@albertmohler.com. Follow regular updates on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AlbertMohler.

]]>http://www.albertmohler.com/2013/06/11/truth-trust-and-testimony-in-a-time-of-tension-the-sbc-and-its-future/feed/0Albert MohlerAs the 2013 Southern Baptist Convention convenes this morning in Houston, theological issues will be ever close at hand. This is as it should be, for Baptists are a theological people. The history of the Southern Baptist Convention has been a legacy of significant doctrinal debates and controversies — most of them over issues that […]Blog,Church & Ministry,SBC,Theology,2013 Southern Baptist Convention,Calvinism,Calvinism Advisory Task Force,Great Commission task,SBC Executive Committee President Frank PageThe Briefing 06-06-13http://www.albertmohler.com/2013/06/06/the-briefing-06-06-13/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-briefing-06-06-13
http://www.albertmohler.com/2013/06/06/the-briefing-06-06-13/#commentsThu, 06 Jun 2013 10:30:40 +0000/?p=273061) Recent trials a horrible reminder of murderous humanity